Rethinking the financial management skills of school heads on the quality of basic education: Implications for the Tanzania Development Vision 2050

Abstract

The low quality of basic education, linked to limited financial management skills among school heads, threatens workforce training to foster the Tanzania Development Vision 2050 of building a prosperous, just, inclusive, and self-reliant economy. Therefore, this study examined gaps in financial management skills among school heads in Tanzania and explored how these skills relate to the quality of basic education. It used a sequential explanatory design, gathering data through questionnaires from 350 randomly selected school heads. We used key informant interviews with district accountant officers for validation and conducted a documentary analysis to assess the quality of basic education. The descriptive results indicated that the majority of school heads encounter financial management skill gaps, particularly in using public electronic payment systems, preparing and managing budgets, preparing and reporting financial statements, generating their own sources for school programs, conducting internal controls of school funds, and interpreting public financial laws and regulations. Similarly, the documentary analysis indicated a moderate quality of basic education in terms of academic performance, infrastructure, completion rate, and transition to advanced secondary education, which results from the financial management skills of school heads. Moreover, the correlation results indicated a strong and positive link between school heads’ financial management skills and the quality of basic education, with the highest correlation coefficients of (r = .741) for the quality of pedagogy and (r = .739) for the quality of teaching and learning resources. This relationship implies that gaps in financial management skills negatively affect the quality of basic education, which subsequently jeopardizes the national development vision 2050. Therefore, the study recommends providing financial management training for school heads and incorporating financial management skills in teacher education curricula.